Hero
by UrbanChameleon
Summary: "Itachi... what have you done?" "I have done my duty. Can you do yours?" The story follows Itachi through his ANBU days until the Uchiha clan massacre, while also focusing on the growing friendship between him and a fellow ANBU, Akane Nara. How will she react upon finding out Itachi killed his entire clan? Prequel to "Until the End".
1. Double Agent

**Chapter 1 - Double Agent**

"Here's your equipment."

Itachi looked at the cat mask and blade sitting on top of his neatly folded ANBU attire.

"Thank you," he told the muscular ANBU who had handed them to him, before making his way down the hallway to the locker room.

His new teammates were already there. Four of them had their masks on and were sitting together, looking at him as if to suggest his entering the room had interrupted their conversation. Another one, a brown haired teen with large, black eyes, looked up as he finished putting on one of his metal armguards. In the back of the room sat a girl. They were all older than him, that much was obvious at first sight, but he did not let it intimidate him.

"I've been assigned to the ANBU starting today," he said, keeping his tone calm and polite. "My name is Uchiha Itachi. I would greatly appreciate your guidance," he finished with the perfunctory bow.

The brown haired boy approached him with a smile. "I see," he said. "So you're the one. I'm Tenzo. You can use the locker that's the farthest one from the back."

" _Hai,_ " said Itachi, and crossed the room to the one empty locker. On the bench across from it sat the only girl on the team, who looked up from a scroll as he walked by. Her long, dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and she wore the earrings of a member from one of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. He immediately ruled out the Akimichi clan judging by her figure. She smiled at him and held out a hand.

"Nara Akane," she said. "Pleased to meet you. Welcome to our team."

He smiled back and shook her hand, though he was a bit taken aback by her familiarity. He was, however, pleased to remark that she could not possibly have been more than two years older than him.

"Thank you," Itachi said. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the four masked ANBU chatting as they threw glances at him over their shoulders. He ignored them and proceeded to change into the ANBU outfit.

"Team Ro is to assemble at the Third Training Ground in five minutes," Tenzo announced.

" _Hai,_ " Itachi said.

Behind him, Akane rolled up her scroll and stood. She followed the others outside, leaving Itachi to change. Four minutes later, he arrived at the training ground and walked towards the four masked ANBU. Akane and Tenzo were missing. He had a sense of these four men's antipathy, but no idea as to what he had done to earn it. Surely as ANBU members they would not stoop so low as to begrudge him for his age alone.

 _Apparently not,_ he thought as kunai whizzed past him, followed by several shuriken. He kept walking. Based on the weapons' trajectory, they were harmless.

"What are you doing? Explain yourselves."

Itachi looked at the silver-haired man standing next to Tenzo and Akane. They all had their masks on now, but it was not hard to tell that the silver-haired man was upset. One of the four spoke.

"We wanted to make sure he had the skills to be one of us."

"Since he's too young," another one added.

"Do you have a problem with the decision of your superiors?"

"No, it's not like that…"

"Haven't you already sensed that he isn't ordinary?" the silver-haired man asked, then turned to look at Itachi. "I'm Kakashi, Captain of Team Ro. You're new, but I want you to learn the ANBU rules and formations quickly. Akane can help you with that after our training session."

" _Hai,"_ he said.

They all watched with interest as Itachi demonstrated his kunai throwing technique later that day. Akane stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a tree as their new teammate whirled in the air, head down, and threw two handfuls of kunai knives all at once, using an extra two to redirect some to unseen targets.

"He's good," Hiro said to his friends, who all stared in awe as every kunai hit the mark dead on.

"He's talented," she heard Tenzo tell Kakashi, "but making an exception for someone so young is rather unusual for the ANBU."

"Danzo-sama recommended him," Kakashi said.

"No kidding? He doesn't fit the mold, though. I mean, Danzo-sama has his own, personal set of criteria for ANBU and Foundation agents."

"And?"

"I just can't see him…"

Tenzo stopped as Itachi landed back on the ground, adjusting his mask. Akane smiled, remembering how her own had fitted her poorly at first. After all, they were not made for children.

"This will be all for today," Kakashi announced. "You are all dismissed."

Itachi went to Akane, who had stayed behind.

"Nara Akane-san…"

"Just Akane," she said, removing her fox mask to reveal a genial smile.

"Akane-san," he half-conceded, "I have read the ANBU rules and formations, but perhaps you could help me by explaining to me exactly how the formations apply to our team."

"You Uchiha are always one step ahead all the time, aren't you?" she asked, and he got the feeling that it was mean as a compliment. She then removed a folder from her satchel, handing it to him. "Kakashi-senpai asked me to give this to you. The files inside contain information about every member of Team Ro, stating our position within the team, detailing our strengths and weaknesses and so on – enough for you to have an easier time understanding how the formations apply within the team. Needless to say, I think, that this is highly sensitive information. No one must see this but you."

"I understand."

They sat together on the grass. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and began.

"Let's start with the most basic formation – the one we use when we travel over long distances. The problem is that we are seldom all dispatched together on the same assignment, so this traveling formation always changes accordingly, based on the number and specialty of the participating members. Also…"

They kept at it for another couple of hours, addressing most of the ANBU formations and their most frequently used variations, with Akane answering Itachi's every question on the matter, as patient as any Academy teacher. She also managed to make it less of a drudgery by asking for his view on certain hypothetical situations and possible outcomes or solutions. Truth be told, he had not expected to feel so comfortable in her presence, but she seemed to possess the rare ability of making herself pleasant for those around her.

They took a long-overdue lunch break after a while and Itachi allowed his curiosity to get the better of him.

"Forgive me, Akane-san, how old are you?"

"Thirteen. I was the newbie before you. I joined the ANBU only a couple of months ago."

"How come you're not part of one of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formations?"

"I was born either too early or too late, I suppose. There are no Yamanakas or Akimichis my age, so I trained to make something of myself alone. Besides, not all members of our clan become part of such a trio. Sometimes our paths take us elsewhere. One way or another, we all do our best for Konoha, after all."

Itachi nodded thoughtfully. He found himself thinking of her words on his way home that evening, even as he tried to instead commit to memory all that he had learned.

"Itachi," his mother called from the kitchen as soon as he entered the house. "Your father asked to see you before dinner."

He walked down the hall and entered his father's office. Fugaku Uchiha was doing some reading for work, it seemed, but he put it all aside and motioned for Itachi to come closer.

"I started doing my duties today," Itachi said, kneeling on the tatami before his father.

"Is that so? That's my boy. I'm very proud that you've joined the ANBU."

Itachi bowed, humbly accepting his father's praise.

"But you must never forget one thing," Fugaku added. "Before you are a Konoha ANBU, you are, first and foremost, Itachi of the Uchiha clan."

" _Hai."_

"The Uchiha clan has been entrusted with the security of Konoha, but because of that, our clan has been relegated to living outside the village boundaries. It is essential that our clan has one of its own there. I am counting on you, Itachi."

It was not until he reached his room that Itachi allowed himself to think about what his father expected of him. He sat in the dark for a while, musing on it, until his eyes fell on the ANBU folder Akane had given him. He decided it would be of more use to him to study that instead, for the time being, so Itachi turned on the light and opened the folder.

Kakashi's file was first, listing him as a team leader, giving a brief history of his career and an in-depth analysis of his strengths and weaknesses. His codename for use during missions was Ookami. Itachi wondered what codename Kakashi would pick for him. He browsed through the rest of the files, trying to memorize the information, until he reached Akane's file. Codename: Hime. Itachi smirked.

" _Nii-san,_ " came his little brother's voice from behind the panel door of his room. Itachi looked up and saw Sasuke's shadow through the paper panels.

"Come in, Sasuke," he said.

Six-year old Sasuke came in, all pouty. "You missed my entrance ceremony into the Academy," he said, crossing his arms.

Itachi beckoned him closer. Sasuke obliged, only to be poked in the forehead.

"You always do that," he complained, rubbing his sore forehead as Itachi smiled. Then Sasuke's eyes drifted to Akane's photo on the file. "Who's that?"

Itachi closed the folder. "No one of importance, _otouto._ Now, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh," Sasuke said, suddenly remembering. " _Kaa-san_ said to call you for dinner."

"Then I guess we'd better go," Itachi said, ruffling his brother's hair.

After the quiet family dinner and tucking Sasuke in amid protests of ' _I'm not a baby anymore, nii-san',_ Itachi returned to his reading. Akane's file listed her as an experienced user of ninjutsu, especially skilled in her clan's shadow manipulation techniques. That was to be expected of a Nara ANBU, of course, but what he found more interesting was her secondary status as a medic-nin in training. So, she had some skill in healing too, though she had yet to undergo the official exam. Medic-nins were in high demand within the ANBU, he knew. It seemed even those still in training were deemed qualified enough to become part of it.

Itachi pored over the data for a while longer, until he sensed that everyone in the house had gone to sleep. He closed the folder and made the hand seal Akane had taught him to make all the files in the folder appear blank, then hid it under a loose floorboard. He then donned his ANBU outfit and mask and stole away into the night.

It was past midnight and Lord Danzo was waiting for him. Itachi briefly wondered if the man ever slept.

"You asked to see me tonight, Danzo-sama?"

"Yes, there is something I must tell you," the old man said, and, as Itachi had expected, he cut to the chase. "It is about your clan. Fugaku Uchiha has stood out as one of the shrewdest security captains in generations. I'm not surprised that you're his son. This is not a criticism," he added, though Itachi would not have protested otherwise. "Because Konoha ordered the Uchiha clan outside the village limits, but granted them self-governance, we cannot intervene in their matters." Itachi noticed the use of the word 'their' instead of 'your'. Danzo looked at him with steely eyes as he continued: "Hence, we need our own set of eyes and ears there… I am counting on you, Itachi."

" _Hai."_

If this is what it took to help the Hokage and his advisers find a peaceful solution to prevent the Uchiha clan's coup d'état, he would gladly do it. _Forgive me, father,_ he thought, _but your actions will lead our clan down a path I cannot follow._

 ** _A.N.: "Ookami" means wolf. "Hime" means princess or beautiful woman._**


	2. Mission

**Chapter 2 - Mission**

They were standing guard outside the Third Hokage's office, on each side of the great, wooden doors. Itachi had never thought not moving for a few hours could prove more tiring than training for a whole day. Kakashi must have sensed his growing impatience, because he started a conversation.

"Are you getting used to the job?" he asked.

"Not yet," Itachi admitted.

"That's unlike you."

"I haven't gone on a mission yet."

"Protecting Hokage-sama is a mission in itself."

"Isn't the ANBU an assassination and special tactical unit?" Itachi hoped his questions did not make him seem impertinent. Kakashi responded quite calmly, though.

"Well, we're not at war right now."

Just then, the Third Hokage stepped out of his office. The two ANBU straightened up, but the old man spoke without looking at them.

"Kakashi."

" _Hai._ "

"As Hokage, every deployment I order is an official one. However, I cannot ignore Danzo's view that there is an underside to this mission at the border with the Land of Woods. Hence, a separate, unofficial team will be dispatched."

"One which the Hokage didn't order?" Kakashi asked, clearly knowing and understanding a great deal more than Itachi did.

"You will work under Danzo," the Hokage said, ending the conversation, and tottered away, looking very small under the weight of the Hokage robes.

Kakashi turned to Itachi. "I'll explain it to you soon," he said. "Grab Akane from the headquarters and meet me at the village gates in half an hour. I'm going to see Danzo-sama for the exact details of our mission. It seems like you got your wish, Itachi," he told him, his voice carrying the hint of a smile underneath the mask.

Fifteen minutes later, Akane had just finished donning her equipment and the two of them walked out of the building and into the cave tunnel which led outside the ANBU compound. Two ANBU members were having a go at each other to test their taijutsu skills. Upon seeing Itachi and Akane coming down the stairs, they stopped.

"Hey, Itachi," one of them said. "So, it's your first ANBU mission."

"Right," he replied wondering what they wanted.

"I heard it's just Captain Kakashi and you two in a three-man squad. Watch your backs."

Akane said nothing, but their words had piqued Itachi's interest. "Why?" he asked.

"If it's for the sake of a mission, the Captain won't hesitate to kill a comrade," the first ANBU said.

"He's a shinobi of the highest degree," his sparring partner added.

"Unlike the two of you," Akane said, her voice full of contempt, and she and Itachi walked away, heading toward the exit.

"Is it true?" he asked her as they jumped across rooftops. Akane seemed to ponder his question before answering.

"It used to be," she finally said, "but Kakashi-senpai is not that kind of person anymore."

Kakashi was already waiting for them atop the village gates when they arrived, with five minutes to spare. Their Captain used that time to debrief them on the details of their mission.

"On the surface," he said, "this is a diplomatic mission. Maito Gai's group will be exchanging intel with the Hannya Black Ops of the Land of Woods at the border. However, Danzo-sama believes this to be an enemy trap, so the three of us will guard the team on their official mission. When the Hannya turn on the team and attack, we kill them. We are to leave no survivors."

"Total annihilation?" Akane asked, quirking a brow.

"We must show them that Konoha does not tolerate betrayal. Is that clear?"

" _Hai_ ," Itachi and Akane replied at the same time.

They watched Gai's team assemble below: two chunin and an elderly man, plus Gai himself.

"Okay, everyone!" Gai said. "Fire up your youthful passion and let's GO!"

"Please wait, Captain!" the two chunin said, breaking into a run to catch up with the energetic Gai.

The old man started walking too, while complaining of being way past his youthful days. Itachi turned to Kakashi.

"So they weren't told of the nature of this mission?"

"No," Kakashi said, putting on his ANBU mask. "The only ones who know are the top ranks of Konoha and the three of us."

With that, they jumped down from the gates and into the thick woods surrounding Konoha. They followed Gai's team closely for a few hours, until the group stopped for a lunch break. They had almost made it to the border. Kakashi, Itachi and Akane watched them from a nearby tree, as the four made a fire and cooked a meal.

"You're a godsend on long-distance missions, Kosuke-san," Gai told the old man, digging into his meal with obvious relish.

"Please have seconds if you like it so much."

"Everyone," Gai said, "eat up and replenish your energy and chakra."

One of the chunin spoke up. "But Captain, is it wise to burn a fire out in the open like this? It's like we're just announcing that we're here."

"Yes, what if the enemy attacks?" the other chunin asked. Gai swallowed his food.

"If they want to attack, so be it. I have a hunch this mission is to clarify whether they are friend or foe," he said, not looking bothered at all by the prospect of being caught unprepared.

"That's amazing," Itachi said. "He's only been told the superficial facts about the mission, but he's figured out its true purpose."

"Even so," Akane argued, "he's only inviting trouble with that fire."

Kakashi removed his mask and said: "We should eat too."

They all took out their pill supplies.

"In a way, this symbolizes the ANBU perfectly," Kakashi said, popping a pill into his mouth. "They sit out and enjoy a hot-pot together, while we lurk in the shadows and eat food pills."

Itachi smiled. "I don't mind. I realize this is part of the job."

"After a while, these food pills alone will make you reconsider your career choice," Akane said in good humor.

Gai's team reached the agreed-upon rendezvous point an hour or so later. The three ANBU watched from their hiding place as four figures approached the team from the shadows of the looming cliffs around. The strangers wore white demon masks. Gai stepped forward to greet them.

"You're with the Hannya Black Ops of the Land of Woods, correct?"

Their leader replied with a woman's voice. "Indeed we are. Now hand over the scroll."

"Alright, then at the same time…"

"You first."

"Fine then," Gai said, and reached for the scroll to hand it to her. The kunoichi took it and opened it.

"There's no mistake," she said. "This is it."

"And your scroll?"

"Here it is."

She handed Gai a white scroll. Gai, however, delivered a swift kick to her face, causing her to throw the scroll upwards, where it unfurled and exploded.

"We're supposed to exchange scrolls, not fire!" Gai told her, but the kunoichi and her companions jumped backwards and up onto the cliffs.

"Konoha reneged on our agreement and attacked us," she declared. "We will seek retribution."

"What a bold-faced lie!" Gai protested. "You're the one who broke the agreement!"

The kunoichi began to laugh, and as the sound bounced off the faces of the cliffs, more shinobi appeared at her side, as if on cue. The two chunin on Gai's team looked at their Captain, cowering before the realization that they were now grossly outnumbered.

"They planned on betraying us from the very beginning," Gai said.

Kakashi decided it was time for them to intervene. The three Konoha ANBU jumped in front of Gai's team, facing the enemy.

"We'll take it from here," Kakashi told Gai over his shoulder. "Get your team out of here."

"You guys?!" Gai said, while his companions rejoiced with cries of 'ANBU!' and 'reinforcements!'. The Hannya kunoichi signaled her allies and they began the attack.

" _Doton: Ganseki Kuzushi!_ " they all cried at once. (A.N.: Earth Style: Rock Collapse)

There was a terrible rumble as part of the cliff broke into rocks above the Konoha shinobi. Gai turned to his team, shouting at them to run, while Kakashi placed his hands on the ground.

" _Doton: Doryūheki!"_ he said, causing a great wall to rise in the path of the falling rocks, which crashed against it. (A.N.: Earth Style: Mud Wall) The ground shook under their feet from the impact and a cloud of dust rose in the air, momentarily concealing them from the eyes of the enemy. Gai looked at the two frightened chunin behind them and told them to get out of there, which they did, this time around, realizing things were about to get serious.

Itachi looked at Kakashi. "Rumor has it that you'd kill a comrade for the sake of a mission."

"I'll never let my friends get killed," he said, apparently not bothered by his words. "That's why I was entrusted with this sharingan." He then turned to Gai and said: "You get away from here too."

"Like I'd turn my back on a mission!"

The Hannya kunoichi barked another order at her team as the dust cleared and she saw the Konoha shinobi were still alive. "Get on with it!"

" _Doton: Ganseki Kuzushi!"_

Gai's skin turned red and his body began to emit a green light as he said: " _Hachimon:_ Fifth Gate of Limit!" He then launched himself toward the falling rocks, jumping upwards from one to another to reach the enemy's position. Itachi stared in awe.

"He did all that using only taijutsu?" he asked Kakashi, but the older man cut it short.

"Save the admiration for later!" he said, and the three of them jumped just as the rocks hit the ground with a thunderous crash. Dust rose once more. Gai suddenly jumped at the enemy from within the cloud, kicking two Hannya shinobi, while Itachi's shuriken pierced a third and Kakashi's Raikiri killed a fourth.

They heard the Hannya kunoichi call the retreat. The remaining enemies turned and ran, with Kakashi and Itachi right behind them. But as the real Kakashi and Itachi jumped in front of them, cutting their escape, and their clones vanished in a puff of smoke, the enemy shinobi halted, confused.

" _Kage Nui no Jutsu!"_ (A.N.: Shadow Stitching Jutsu)

Akane's jutsu pinned them all in place in an instant. Itachi threw six shuriken, hitting two enemies and Kakashi's Raikiri impaled the Hannya leader. Gai turned around as Kakashi held out Konoha's recovered scroll. "Your mission is complete," he said. "Return to the village."

Before Gai could respond, however, the piercing scream of a man dying caught his attention. He looked at Itachi and Akane who, blade in hand, were finishing off the Hannya survivors.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" he asked, looking outraged.

"This is the mission we were assigned," Kakashi explained as another shinobi's life was taken.

"Even still, stop, Kakashi!"

" _Oi!_ What kind of an idiot calls someone by their name while they are on an ANBU mission?"

"You…" Gai began and stopped as another shinobi died under Itachi's blade. He and Akane approached them then, with blood glistening on their armor and their hands.

"Don't worry, Captain," Itachi said. "No enemy survivors remain."

Gai looked at the two, eyes open wide, face frozen in an expression of horror. Akane wiped the blood from her blade with an enemy's cloak and sheathed it.

"Kakashi…" Gai said, a shadow of sadness and understanding in his eyes. "I understand now why Hokage-sama told me I'm not fit to become an ANBU. I lack one of your most important qualities. A quality called darkness," he finished with a wan smile.

"What did he mean by darkness?" Itachi asked Akane a while later, as they were heading back to Konoha after a short break.

"Deception and killing are part of ANBU missions, the darkness associated with our job. Not everyone can stomach that."

"I do not enjoy killing."

"I doubt any of us does. But we understand why it must be done and we are willing to do it for the sake of the greater good."

"I see."

They arrived at the village a little before sunset, as the westering sun turned the sky carnation pink. The two groups split up at the gates, as Gai had to report to the Third Hokage.

"I'm going to report back to Danzo-sama," Kakashi said to Itachi and Akane. "Your part of the mission is complete."

Itachi stepped forward. "Captain… that sharingan wasn't originally yours, was it?"

"No."

"Aren't you uncomfortable about possessing a power that wasn't your own?" he asked, hoping Kakashi would not think he was taking it too far. "You're not an Uchiha, but you possess the sharingan, so you wield the same power as the Uchiha. Whose side are you on?"

"I've never thought about it that way," Kakashi said. "A friend entrusted this sharingan to me and he made me promise never to forget what's important. To never let a friend get killed."

Kakashi left. Akane started to walk the other way and Itachi followed. They dropped by the ANBU headquarters to change into their civilian clothes.

"Where are you off to?" he asked her as she washed the blood off her hands. As her long ponytail swung over her shoulder, Itachi noticed she had a tattoo of the Nara clan's family crest on the back of her neck.

"I'm swinging by the Academy to pick up someone."

"I didn't know you had a younger sibling."

"Ah, no," she said, smiling. "I only have a much older brother. I'm picking up my six-year old cousin."

"He must be in the same class as my little brother, Sasuke."

"Shall we go together, then?" she asked and Itachi nodded.

They waited together in the Academy courtyard as the bell rang. The first to come out was Sasuke, who cracked into a grin at the sight of his older brother.

" _Nii-san!_ " he said, and hurried up to him, casting a curious glance at Akane.

"Sasuke, this is my friend, Akane-san."

"Nice to meet you, Akane-san," Sasuke said, performing an awkward little bow.

"You two look very much alike, Itachi-san," she said with a warm smile. "Ah, there's my cousin. Shikamaru!" she said and waved. The little boy came with a scowl.

"I take it mother asked you to pick me up? You women are always so troublesome."

"Cheer up, cousin. I'll challenge you to a game of shogi tonight."

"Who wins?" Itachi asked.

"Him, usually," she replied, laughing. "I'll see you around, Itachi-san!"

Itachi waved and turned to his little brother. "Let's go home together, Sasuke."

"Okay! So you're done with your mission? Is she your teammate?"

"You know I'm not allowed to talk about work, _otouto_ ," Itachi admonished him gently. Sasuke nodded cheerfully and changed the subject.

" _Nii-san_ , guess what? _Sensei_ praised me at the Academy today!"

The Uchiha shinobi all gathered in the underground bunker of the Naka Shrine that night. Itachi sat next to Shisui in the back of the room, while his father presided over the meeting from the front.

"Some of you may already be aware, but my son, Itachi, has joined the ANBU. Being in close vicinity to the Hokage and the top ranks means access to more information and that is a boon for the Uchiha clan. Itachi, do you have anything to report?"

Every head in the room turned to look at him. Itachi was feeling tired and he would have done anything not to have to deal with this right now, but he knew there was no way around it. He stood up and spoke, as Shisui smiled at him encouragingly.

"Well… I'm still new, so there's not much to report. However," he said, thinking of how the Hokage and Lord Danzo had dealt with his mission for the day, "I don't think there's solidarity in the higher ranks of Konoha. It is my belief that how the Uchiha clan deals with this will determine the future of Konoha."

"Exactly," Fugaku said. "By all rights, the Uchiha clan must be involved in the future of Konoha."

Itachi sat as his clansmen erupted in shouts of assent. He felt as if he was balancing himself on a rope above an abyss, trying to cross, and not even his best friend's reassuring smile managed to make him feel better. _Tread carefully,_ he told himself. _This is only the beginning._

 ** _A.N.: I have the whole story handwritten in a notebook, so I will post new chapters as I type them up. Updates will most likely be daily. Thank you for reading!_**


	3. Shisui

They sped through the woods toward the border, expecting trouble almost anytime soon. Kakashi had taken the lead, followed by Tenzo, leaving Itachi and Akane to bring up the rear. Night had fallen and because of the clouds, the moon did not light their way, slowing them down considerably.

"How will you use your shadow manipulation techniques without any light?" Itachi asked Akane.

"My arsenal is not limited to my clan's techniques, you know, Tensai," she said, using his given codename. "Don't worry about me. Focus on keeping your head on your shoulders."

He smiled behind the ANBU mask and he was certain she was, too. He had been an ANBU member for more than a year now and he liked to think he knew her well enough to assume that. Kakashi gave the signal to stop. They halted among the branches of the trees, silent and alert. They watched Kakashi's every single move, waiting for the cue to strike. Itachi's sharingan watched the movement below.

 _One, two, three…_ he counted them off in his head one by one. He signaled to Akane when his count reached an alarming number. _Nineteen, maybe more in hiding._ That meant one of them against five enemy shinobi. The odds were unfortunate, but the right strategy would safely see them through this mission. Finally, Kakashi turned to Akane and gave her an order Itachi's sharingan interpreted as a single word: _diversion._ He saw her make three hand seals in rapid succession. Rat. Boar. Tiger.

" _Sanzengarasu no Jutsu!"_ (A.N.: Scattering Crow Swarm Jutsu)

A flock of countless crows surrounded the enemy, cloning themselves at a fast rate and obscuring the enemy's field of vision in a matter of seconds. Kakashi then signaled the attack. The initial barrage of weapons thrown into the swarm of crows keeping the enemy busy killed six of the Kiri shinobi.

" _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"_ (A.N.: Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)

Itachi's fireball hit just as Akane's crows disappeared with a loud succession of pops, catching four shinobi off-guard and killing them instantly.

"Konoha ANBU!" one of the remaining shinobi screamed. "Retreat!" was his last word before Kakashi's Raikiri went through his chest.

As his companions turned to run, they found themselves surrounded by the remaining three Konoha ANBU. Fire jutsus clashed against water jutsus, producing a thick mist that did little to help with the already existing disadvantage of fighting in the dark, for both parties. Itachi was unhindered, his sharingan helping him to easily pinpoint the enemies and eliminate them one by one. A stray shuriken brushed past his shoulder, but he barely felt a thing, pumped with adrenalin as he was.

Kakashi's Raikiri sparked a few feet away, it's light shining dimly through the haze, while a Chidori chirped to life somewhere to his right, followed by a strangled scream. Itachi stepped back, kunai in hand, until he came back to back with Akane, whose Chidori died away.

"I think that's all of them," he said, only seeing his teammates' chakra now.

They lowered their weapons as one of Kakashi's wind jutsus blew away the mist, leaving them surrounded by dead Kiri shinobi. Some of them were still trapped in Tenzo's wood prison techniques, crushed to death.

"This was too easy," Akane murmured, in a tone almost too low for Itachi to hear, but he scanned the area once more to make sure they hadn't missed anything.

"Ookami, don't move," he told Kakashi, sharingan fixed on the explosive tag stuck to the tree beside him.

"I saw it too. There are bound to be more. On the count of three, we all jump up and try to outrun the explosion. Try to stick together."

" _Hai!"_

"One… two… three!"

Itachi pushed chakra into his legs and jumped as the explosive tags detonated below. Trees shook and fell, branches slipping away from under his feet as he jumped, feeling the scorching air rise from the explosion against his skin. He kept at it, following the dim shapes of his comrades through the darkness of the woods, toward silence. Pain began to throb in his shoulder, but he ignored it, even as he felt the hot blood soaking into the dark fabric of his long gloves. The cut must have been deeper than he had thought. And it had all been for nothing, he thought, for they were supposed to retrieve a scroll from the Kiri shinobi and now they had blasted themselves to smithereens.

Kakashi ordered the halt and they all sat on the branches to catch their breath. Akane noticed Itachi's blood drenched shoulder and hopped onto his branch. She pulled down his glove to the elbow and placed her pale hands above the gash. Cool, healing chakra seeped into his flesh, taking away the pain and closing the wound.

"It was a trap all along," Kakashi said as Itachi was pulling his glove back up. "They meant to lure us in, hoping we'd get blasted to bits trying to get the scroll. If there even was one."

"We still failed," Itachi said.

"That, we did," Akane told him, "but the outcome of a mission can't always be success, no matter how hard we try."

"What if we go back? Maybe there is a scroll and maybe, by some miracle, it's intact."

"Wishful thinking," Kakashi said, removing his mask to wipe the sweat off his forehead, "but even if that were the case, they've probably set a secondary bunch of explosive tags, set to detonate if anything moves after the primary explosion."

"Is this your first failed mission?" Akane asked Itachi.

"No, but still…" he argued.

"Don't be so disappointed. We did everything we could."

"That crow summoning jutsu… I have a friend who can do it too."

"Shisui the Teleporter?"

"You know him?"

"No, but even so, he's a pretty famous Uchiha."

They arrived back to Konoha by noon and Itachi spent the rest of the day resting, trying to catch up on sleep because of the accumulating tiredness from sleepless nights and long missions.

* * *

Kakashi looked grim when they met the following day, in front of an unfamiliar tower-like building near the Uchiha district. They were going up the stairs when Kakashi said:

"You're part of the ANBU now and this is one mission you can't avoid."

"What kind of a mission is this?" he asked, managing to keep the hesitation from his voice.

"When the Nine Tails incident occurred, seven years ago, the higher-ups suspected the Uchiha clan was behind it. Since then, the Uchiha district has been under 24-hour surveillance."

Itachi was not surprised, somehow. His thoughts drifted back to that night, though, remembering how he had ran through the streets, among frightened civilians, carrying a crying, tiny Sasuke in his arms, trying to get to safety. Kakashi opened a door, revealing a room filled with machines and screens. Two masked ANBU members were operating what appeared to be monitoring equipment.

"Time to switch," Kakashi told them.

"Nothing to report, sir."

"This is…" Itachi began, but one the ANBU cut him off rather rudely.

"This isn't the only surveillance center around. Danzo-sama's ANBU are also watching them. Now what will you do? Notify your clan about this?"

Itachi kept his composure, aware of Kakashi's watchful gaze.

"What is my job here?" he asked.

"Just keep watching through that camera," the ANBU told him, pointing to a large piece of machinery. "Okay, Captain. We're going. Stay alert, Itachi."

The two ANBU left, shutting the door behind themselves. Kakashi was sitting in front of the screens, looking through the logs written down during the previous shift.

"This is part of our job as ANBU. It's not assassination, but it's still dirty work," Kakashi said as Itachi sat and looked through the camera.

"A mission is a mission," he said.

"You'll be spying on friends and family. It's even dirtier. I can take this shift if you want."

"No, that's not necessary. Besides…" he trailed off as he spotted Sasuke and pulled back, smiling.

"Besides?"

"The Uchiha clan is aware that they're under suspicion."

"I guess you're right," Kakashi said thoughtfully.

The following evening, as Itachi was returning home, Shisui appeared before him, only to vanish a moment later as Sasuke came up to him from behind.

" _Nii-san!_ Are you done with your mission? If you are, come help me train!"

Itachi smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Sasuke. I have an urgent summons."

He met with Shisui at their usual spot, on the cliffs by the waterfall. It was getting dark now and the first stars were flickering in the west.

"We used to play here a lot," Shisui said, and Itachi heard the smile in his voice rather than seeing it, as his friend was facing away from him.

"Why did you want to see me?"

Shisui grew serious. "I want to hear your honest opinion. How serious do you think Fugaku-san is about a coup d'état?"

Itachi thought about it for a moment, and about all that he had witnessed during the last few months. "Dissatisfaction toward the village is growing among the Uchiha. If the village doesn't change, the Uchiha won't stand for it anymore… but if the Uchiha clan doesn't change, neither will the village. As long as the two sides distrust each other, things will only get worse."

Complaints about harsh treatment by the Police Force were already on the rise. If something wasn't done soon, things might go out of hand.

"I want to clear up that suspicion," Shisui said.

"Do you think you can?"

"I don't know, but I have to try. If the Uchiha attempt a coup d'état, it will bode badly for both sides."

"I'm against a coup d'état as well. But it will take something big to stop it."

"I know, but you shouldn't do anything."

"Why is that?"

"Some members on the Police Force are suspicious of you… and I've been ordered to spy on you."

Itachi was taken aback, but as the initial shock passed, all he felt was resentment. He trusted Shisui and knew he would say nothing to endanger him, yet he could not help feeling betrayed.

"Meet me in the clearing tomorrow, before the meeting. We'll go together," Shisui said. "I'll come up with something to stop this."

* * *

"What?!" his father shouted at him later that night. "Do you know what day tomorrow is? You don't understand your own position!"

They were sitting in a dark room, Itachi facing his silent mother and angry father. He doubted sitting in the dark would help, though, given his father's raised voice, but he did his best to defuse the bomb without making him angrier.

"I'm setting out on a mission tomorrow," he lied.

"What kind of mission?"

"I can't tell you. It's top secret."

"Itachi," his father said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You also serve as the Uchiha clan's pipeline to the village's nerve center. You know that, don't you?"

" _Hai._ "

"Bear that in mind and come to tomorrow's assembly!"

Itachi felt Sasuke lurking outside the room, on the porch, probably roused by their father's yelling and now eavesdropping on a conversation Itachi deemed unsuitable for his young ears.

"Sasuke," he said, alarming his parents, who had not sensed their youngest, "once you finish using the toilet, go straight back to sleep."

Sasuke opened the panel door and peered inside, looking worried. "Okay," he said in a small voice. Fugaku stood up, annoyed.

"What are you doing walking around at this hour?! Hurry up and go to bed!"

 _Forgive me, Sasuke,_ Itachi thought as he watched his father lash out at him. _I only meant to protect you._

* * *

Shisui was late. It had gotten dark and the meeting had already begun, but Itachi had promised to wait, so he waited. Suddenly, he heard movement above and a few leaves fell from the tree. Itachi tensed.

"Is that you, Shisui?"

"Come with me," Shisui said. Itachi felt something was wrong. He followed his friend to the cliffs by the waterfall. Shisui was waiting there, looking away.

"It's too late to stop the coup d'état, Itachi. If civil war breaks out in Konoha, other nations are sure to attack… which means a full scale war. I was going to try to stop the coup d'état with Kotoamatsukami, but… Danzo took my right eye. He doesn't trust me. He intends to protect the village his own way, no matter what it takes or how it looks. I suspect he'll come after my left eyes as well, so I want to give it to you before he has a chance."

Itachi found himself at a loss for words. He watched as his friend removed his own eye, wishing he could share his pain, if only even to stop feeling so numb inside.

"You're the only person I can count on, my friend," Shisui said, holding out his eye. "Please protect this village… and the honor of the Uchiha name."

Itachi closed his eyes and summoned a crow. It landed on Shisui's hand, took the eye and vanished.

"I accept it," Itachi said, his sharingan watching, activated by the turmoil of feelings coiling in his stomach like a rattle snake. "What will you do now?"

"If I die, several circumstances will change. I've left behind a note already," he said, slowly edging backwards. Itachi suddenly realized what Shisui was about to do and felt a surge of panic.

"Wait, Shisui!"

"Don't stop me, Itachi," he said, and with a final smile, he let himself fall over the edge, into the river below.

"Shisui!" Itachi cried and rushed to catch him, but failed.

He felt a sharp pain in his eyes and looked at the world with newfound clarity as his Mangekyou Sharingan awakened.

 **A.N.: "Tensai" means "prodigy". "Ookami" means "wolf".**


	4. Choice

**Chapter 4 - Choice**

Itachi knelt before the Konoha Council, keeping his eyes downcast. He did not wish to see any of them. The pain caused by Shisui's death still felt raw in his chest.

"Shisui Uchiha was a core member of the Uchiha clan," he said. "His suicide demoralized and lessened their fighting power all at once."

"So the coup d'état has been foiled," Koharu Utatane said.

"Are you saying there was no other way but for Shisui to give his life?" the Hokage asked. "I shouldn't have pushed him…"

Itachi felt Lord Danzo's eyes settle on him. He suppressed a shudder.

"There are a few among the Uchiha who believe that you killed Shisui," he said.

Itachi remembered his angry outburst, the day after Shisui's death, when three members from the Police Force had accused him of murder.

"The ones who believe that didn't know that Shisui and I were working towards the same goal. Shisui did not appear at our rendezvous point." He was getting good at lying.

"He had secrets, so he was suspected," Danzo said. "I will notify the ANBU that it was officially a suicide. Agreed, Hiruzen?"

The Lord Hokage muttered his assent.

They were standing by in the trees, watching as the enemy buried explosive tags on the road and covered them with dirt. They had already buried a great deal, Itachi knew, so they would have to watch their step or risk losing a leg.

At Kakashi's signal, they threw shuriken at them, then jumped down to tackle the remaining enemy shinobi. Itachi used his ANBU blade to kill one and went after another. He thrust the blade into his chest and was just pulling it out when he suddenly felt Akane move behind him, heard a clink and a thud. When he turned around, he saw an enemy falling off Kakashi's Raikiri a few feet away, dropping the kunai he was holding. Beside him, Akane fell on her knees, breathing heavily.

"You need to… watch your back…" she said, pulling out a kunai from her abdomen which had managed to pierce her armor. "Go help the others!"

He backed away, confused and upset. His mind had been somewhere else. He had endangered himself and others. Inwardly cursing himself for his inattention, he returned to the fight. The leader of the Kusa shinobi turned to run, only to come face to face with a Raikiri-wielding Kakashi.

"That's…" the shinobi said, backing away, "You're… the Copy Ninja of Konoha!" he screamed as the Raikiri pierced his chest. "Kaka…shi…"

Kakashi pushed his dead body away. The Raikiri faded, no longer needed.

"You've become quite well known, _senpai._ Do it long enough and you're bound to become famous," Tenzo said.

Kakashi sounded grim. "Clear the area. Leave no trace of Konoha. Tensai," he told Itachi, "take care of Hime."

Akane had pulled herself against a tree and a green light was glowing in her hand, which was trembling as it hovered over a growing red stain. She had removed her mask to get more oxygen, but Itachi could see that her chakra reserve was nearly depleted.

"It's not very deep and it missed anything important," she said. "I'm going to stop the bleeding, wrap it up and that should be more than enough until we get back to Konoha."

"As a medic-nin, you are not allowed to deliberately put yourself in harm's way. You should have let the kunai fly."

"I'm not a medic-nin yet," she said with a pained smirk. "I won't be taking the final exam for another year, so I am exempt from the rules."

Her healing chakra faded, depleted. Itachi helped her remove her armor and wrap up the wound with clean bandages.

"What about common sense? Are you exempt from that?"

He was more upset with himself than with her, and he realized he had been unnecessarily cruel.

"Forgive me," he said. "I didn't mean to be a jerk."

Akane smiled wanly, shaking her head. "Don't apologize. You've had a lot on your mind lately. I… I was sorry to hear about Shisui-san."

"Thank you, Hime."

They took break near dawn, enjoying a meager, cold meal and a chance to doze off for a little while. Akane had chosen to do the latter, and her head lolled to one side as she slept. It was an ANBU thing, Itachi mused, to become able to fall asleep anytime, anywhere, and to be able to wake up, fully alert, at the smallest unfamiliar sound. He took a sip of water to wet his parched throat.

"You said that a friend gave that sharingan to you," he said to Kakashi, who was sitting beside him, studying a map of the area.

"Along with a wish."

"Do you need to honor that wish?"

"Yes, I intend to." After a couple of moments, he added: "I know about the Uchiha Shisui incident. Is this about that?"

"No, I'm fine," he said, although his friend's death still weighed heavily in his heart. He was more worried about the Uchiha clan's growing hostility toward the village, though.

"I see," Kakashi said. "Anyway… there's not a lot I can do, but let me know if I can do anything."

" _Hai._ "

Itachi leaned against the tree, looking up at the stars shining through the canopy. _Shisui… things have gotten much worse since then. I don't think I can protect everyone._

Itachi and Kakashi were summoned before the Konoha Council the following week. The four faces of Konoha's top ranks had become all too familiar to him during his two years as an ANBU member.

"Due to an increasing amount of assignments," Lord Danzo said, "I've decided to add an additional team to the ANBU. Itachi, I'm appointing you captain."

Itachi bowed with carefully concealed surprise.

" _Hai."_

"I'm not opposed," Koharu Utatane said, "but you are very young. How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen." He had celebrated his birthday only two days before.

"There are a number of shinobi who were younger and have become jonin," Lord Danzo interjected.

"Just two years in the ANBU and already a captain. He must be the youngest captain the ANBU has ever had."

"I will assign my ANBU agents to this new team," Lord Danzo said, ignoring the old kunoichi.

Itachi did not like that part one bit, but all he could do was obey, so he bowed and left the room, together with Kakashi.

"So does that mean you're going to be transferred to Danzo-sama's ANBU?" Kakashi asked him once they had stepped outside.

"It seems like it."

"Try not to get caught in between the political wrangling of the higher-ups." He was about to walk away when Itachi stopped him.

"Captain Kakashi… thank you for the past two years," he said and bowed.

"Come on, now. You're only changing sections. You're still a Konoha shinobi. It's not like you're going far away."

As he was leaving the building, he noticed a crow standing on a fence with a note in its beak. As soon as it set its beady eyes on him, it flew toward him and set the note in his hand before vanishing with a puff of smoke.

Itachi dropped by the ANBU headquarters to change into his civilian clothes, then set out toward the tea house where Akane's note asked him to come. She was already there when he stepped inside, sipping from a steaming cup of green tea. He caught a hint of jasmine floating in the air as he sat at her table.

"I didn't know they let you out of the hospital," he said, pausing to order something for himself. The old woman who ran the place tottered away to make his tea and Akane smiled.

"It's been a week already, Itachi. I've been out for four days and I even had an assignment with Kakashi-senpai."

"I see. I'm glad you're well."

She pulled out something from the pouch strapped to her leg and handed it to him. "Happy belated birthday, Itachi. I'm sorry I missed it this year."

He took the box and in it he found a necklace which had three silver rings on it.

"You don't have to wear it if you don't like it."

Itachi smiled. "You're the only girl I know who would give a boy jewelry as a present. I like it. Thank you."

"And you're the only person I know who would open a present in front of the person who gave it to them."

He chuckled, putting the box in his pouch. The old woman brought his tea. He waited for it to cool before taking a sip, but he misjudged its temperature and it burned the tip of his tongue.

"I've been made captain," he told her. Akane seemed surprised, but she wholeheartedly congratulated him nonetheless.

"You'll make a great team captain."

It was the last he saw of her that month, as their different assignments kept them both busy over their heads and out of each other's path. The Police Force began strengthening their armament, and dissatisfaction toward Konoha ran higher than ever among the Uchiha. The clan was beginning to convene more often than before. Itachi had the feeling this situation was getting out of hand and he hated feeling so powerless. He could not stop it alone, and it could no longer be ignored.

"The Uchiha clan intends to revolt against Konoha," he told the Council at long last.

Koharu was the first to react, though they were all visibly surprised by the tidings. "What?!" she said. "We can't allow it anymore! They call it revolution, but if their real intention is to take back political power, we'll have to treat them as rebels!"

"Koharu, wait!" the Hokage intervened. "Don't jump to conclusions!"

"However, Hiruzen," Lord Danzo said, his face a mask of calm once more, "the Uchiha aren't going to stop. We must make our move against them right away to avoid confusion… that includes the unknowing children."

Itachi tensed.

"Don't say this in front of Itachi!" the Hokage told Lord Danzo. "Besides, if a civil war starts, it will be hard to fight against the Uchiha. We must think of a strategy."

"It's a race against time…" Koharu said. "We must act before they do anything."

Lord Danzo pushed his own idea forward. "If we and our ANBU team up, together we can just make a surprise attack on them and end it right away."

"The Uchiha used to be our comrades in arms," the Hokage insisted. "I want to use words, not weapons, against them. I'll think of a strategy. Itachi, try to gain as much time as you can."

Lord Danzo did not look pleased with the Hokage's stalling. It seemed to Itachi he had not yet said his final word on the matter and he was proven right, when Lord Danzo summoned him to meet that night.

"The Third Hokage talked like that," he said, "but he will act if Konoha needs to be protected. That's the way it is. If that happens, even he will have to take drastic measures. Whether the war happens or not, once they've attempted the coup d'état, the Uchiha will necessarily be annihilated… your innocent little brother included."

Lord Danzo had made that clear before, yet Itachi had the feeling the old man was trying to make a different point altogether, so he forced himself to remain calm and listen.

"However, by acting before it happens, he can still be saved. If the coup happens, your little brother will see everything, too. He will see his whole clan be destroyed by the shinobi of Konoha, and will undoubtedly want to get revenge on the village… and in that case, he will have to be killed too."

Itachi bristled at that. "Are you threatening?"

"No. I want you to choose. You can either stand on the Uchiha clan's side, participate in the coup d'état and be destroyed together with your clan… or stand on Konoha's side, save your brother before the coup happens and help destroy the Uchiha clan. To protect the village we must absolutely stop the coup before everything falls into chaos, and the only one who can do this job is a double agent working for both the Uchiha and Konoha. In other words, you, Itachi."

Lord Danzo paused, letting the words sink in. Itachi felt sick.

"Itachi… it will be a hard mission for you, but in exchange for that, I can let your little brother live. I'm sure you, too, want to protect the village. Do you accept this mission?"

 _Sasuke…_


	5. Truth

**Chapter 5 - Truth**

Akane jumped from rooftop to rooftop, her path lit by the full moon's silvery light. Konoha was quiet below, most of its residents enjoying the quiet end of the evening after a day's worth of work. She would have been curled up in her bed at this hour, with Kirara purring beside her and a medical journal in her lap, had she not been on patrol duty tonight.

She ran across the length of a bath house's roof, then jumped and scaled up the wall of the adjacent building. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, balancing herself on the balls of her feet as she sat and enjoyed the cool breeze as it swept through her hair. _Almost done,_ she thought , standing up to survey the area. She was almost on the outskirts. One final round along the village wall for a glance at the Uchiha district and she could return to the outpost for a break.

The moon hid behind clouds. Akane dashed across the rooftop and launched herself into the air, landing on a tree branch not far below. An own hooted somewhere and a dog began to howl in the distance. She leaped from branch to branch, soundless as only a Konoha ninja could be in the trees. The Uchiha district came into sight. She went higher, in search of a good vantage point and found it on the top branches of a tall oak tree. There, hidden in the foliage, she crouched and watched.

Suffused in complete darkness, the Uchiha district was eerily quiet, so quiet she could almost hear her own heartbeat, frantic after the mad dash. She frowned, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong. It was not even midnight - surely not everyone could be sleeping at this hour, yet she could see no light anywhere.

Akane jumped from the tree and made her way down into the silent alley and through the gates, blade in hand. She stood up after a couple of moments, not sensing any immediate threats. She kept hoping some Uchiha would show up and make her go through the embarrassing explanation of why she was there, if only to prove that she was not paranoid. However, as the moon slowly crept out of the clouds, she realized that would not be the case.

To her right, the Uchiha district wall was smeared in blood. Her grip on the kunai turned her knuckles white and her fingers cold. _Itachi,_ was her first thought, as fear crept through her body. She moved along the alley – slowly, cautiously, her muscles taut as a bowstring. More blood marks on the walls. On the pavement. Blood. Blood. Blood.

 _What is this?_ she thought, gray eyes wide open in horror. Then they fell on the first couple of bodies. She halted, thunderstruck. Gritting her teeth lest she scream and alert the enemy of her presence, Akane forced herself to keep moving, making sure she remained in the shadows. Her pace quickened almost against her will, her feet taking her towards the only place she knew in the district.

Itachi's house was as dark and as quiet as the others. Pushing away the foreboding feeling in her heart, she took a few steps toward it, but as she looked around to scan the area once more, she noticed a small figure on the ground, not far from where she was standing. Heart in her throat, Akane stepped gingerly around the other bodies lying in the street to kneel beside the limp form. She placed two fingers on Sasuke's neck and felt his pulse – faint, but present.

"Sasuke-kun!" she whispered, shaking him lightly. "Sasuke-kun!"

But he did not rouse. Fresh tears still shone on his cheeks. Akane bit her finger to draw blood and placed her hand on the ground.

" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

A crow appeared, cocking its head at her. "Tell Hokage-sama to send a team down here," she said. "Fly!"

No sooner was the bird out of sight than Akane felt as if she was being watched. She stood up slowly and turned around just in time to catch glimpse of a figure disappearing from a tall electricity post. As much as she hated leaving Sasuke behind, she knew he would be safer here, so she rushed in pursuit.

She chased the figure out of the Uchiha district and over the rooftops of Konoha, hot on the shinobi's trail, but never close enough to catch him. He was faster, but she was relentless. Soon, she realized he was heading toward the village gates, hoping to make a quick escape, no doubt. As if she would allow that to happen. Despite the burning in her lungs, Akane pushed herself harder as they leaped through the trees toward the glowing light ahead. She made the hand seals just as the shinobi landed in the moonlit alley below. _I've got you now._

" _Kage Nui no Jutsu!" (_ A.N.: Shadow Stitching Jutsu)

Shadow tendrils sprang forth from her own shadow, effectively piercing the fugitive's body and binding him in place. Yet it was all she could do to stare, frozen, as the moonlight revealed him to be wearing an ANBU outfit that mirrored hers, and as her eyes traveled upwards, they settled on the mask that rested on the side of his head, half facing her. A great void opened in her mind, sucking in all thoughts. She stared, transfixed, unable to believe her eyes.

Then the bound figure vanished with a puff of smoke. The shadows pulled back as her hands fell to her sides, feeling numb.

"Akane," came an all too familiar voice from behind her.

Akane turned around to face the crimson glare of the sharingan coming from the shadows. She jumped backwards and landed in the alley, trying to put some distance between them until she could understand what was happening. She backed away further still as he jumped down after her, landing on the balls of his feet and rising slowly.

"Itachi…" she said, staring at the blood on his armor. "What have you done?"

"I have done my duty," he said in a deadpanned tone. "Can you do yours?"

"No!" she yelled. "Help me understand!"

Itachi moved to turn away, obviously having no intention to do as she asked. However, she was adept at restraining her opponents.

" _Kagemane no Jutsu!"_ (A.N.: Shadow Imitation Jutsu)

Her shadow sprang forth like a slithering snake and he made no attempt to evade it as it connected to his own. Obviously, he had outwitted her. Though she was not foolish enough to think she could defeat him or even restrain him for too long, she hoped only to buy herself more time. Just as Akane shifted her position to make him turn around and look at her, Itachi's body dissolved into a murder of crows. _Genjutsu… but when…?_

Akane brought her hands together. " _Kai!_ " She felt the surge of chakra within her body dispel the genjutsu, but Itachi was nowhere in sight.

"Itachi, please…" she said, hoping to lure him out, as his words kept haunting her. _I have done my duty._ "You don't have to go through this alone. Don't do this to yourself." She waited, but he did not come out of his hiding place. She decided to risk a change of strategy, piecing together everything she suspected. "Whom did you save Sasuke from?"

Itachi appeared in front of her in an instant, catching her unprepared with the swiftness of his attack. She felt the cold edge of a kunai pressed against her neck, while his hand kept her wrist in an iron grip. It crossed her mind for the first time that he might actually kill her, but her brain did not register fear… only sadness.

"Who gave the order, Itachi?" she asked, more softly, gazing into the depths of his sharingan to show him that she was not afraid, that she trusted him and that he could trust her in turn. She only saw her own reflection staring back at her, but Akane also noticed that his eyes were red-rimmed from crying. "I only want to help you… but I can't unless you let me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your friend."

For a moment, she dared not even breathe. His face was a pale mask, betraying no emotion. He hardly even seemed to be the Itachi she knew. It felt as if she were staring into the eyes of a stranger. She saw two drops of blood at the corner of his eye. His grip on her wrist slackened, but just as she began to think he was considering releasing her, the sharingan's three tomoe began to spin hypnotically, their black bleeding into the red of his iris, forming a new shape she did not recognize. For the first time, Akane felt a surge of panic and closed her eyes, knowing Itachi's power better, perhaps, than he would have liked and thinking that this new sharingan could only be more powerful. It was too late, however, she realized as she opened her eyes again only to find herself in a world of red, black, and white.

"I am running out of time," a ghostly-looking Itachi said. "If you are my friend, you will not breathe a word to anyone of what I am about to show you… least of all to Sasuke. You would endanger him and yourself, and destroy all that I have bought with my pain. Remember that."

Akane nodded once, afraid of what would come, but determined to pull through. The torrent of images and sounds took her by surprise as he sifted through his own memories, filling her mind with an onslaught of information, to the point where pain overwhelmed the growing sensation of dread which kept her stomach wound in a tight knot. It went on for what felt like hours and still, it did not stop, until the pain became almost blinding and paralyzing in its intensity, until she opened her mouth to scream and she could not hear herself.

Her knees buckled and gave in. Akane collapsed at his feet and the silence of reality seemed deafening. Her throat felt dry and her lungs were burning, begging for oxygen, but every breath sent a throb through her skull. She struggled to regain some degree of control over herself, to stand up and make sense of all she had been made to witness. She wondered if Itachi had made it more painful than necessary only to frighten her into silence. Then his memories started to slowly unfold in her head and she understood.

Shock mingled with grief and it must have shown on her face, because Itachi seemed to realize he had gotten the message across and turned around to leave. Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip until she felt blood on her tongue to stop them.

"What will you do now?" she asked, managing to summon enough strength to get up.

"Leave Konoha."

"Take me with you."

"No," he said, and started walking away.

Eight of Akane's shadow clones surrounded Itachi. He stopped, but Akane did not.

" _Kuro Higanbana no Jutsu!"_ the nine Akanes all said at once.(A.N.: Black Spider-Lily Jutsu)

Itachi turned around to face the real Akane, but she knew it would be impossible for him to move from that spot while trapped in this jutsu. Eyes averted to avoid his sharingan, she knew this to be her last chance of changing his mind, for she could feel her chakra draining rapidly.

"Don't carry this burden alone, Itachi," she said. "Let me come with you."

A few moments passed. Silence weighed heavily in the air. As she felt the last of her chakra ebbing away, Itachi slowly held out a hand. The movement caught her eye. She found herself hesitating, almost certain this was only a trick, but there was nothing more she could have done, anyway. She stopped the jutsu and walked up to him, looking in his eyes as she took his hand.

Itachi pulled her closer with a swift move and buried his fist in her stomach.

"Forgive me, Akane," he said as she fell limp against him. "And thank you."


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Hiruzen was looking out the window of his office, his heart heavy at the thought of all that had happened during the night. More than anything, he felt guilty, even more so as it had all happened without his knowing. Itachi's visit and the news he had brought had come as a surprise and a disappointment.

He heard the door open and close. He did not need to turn around to know who it was, but he did, out of respect, and came face to face with Nara Akane in full ANBU attire, with the exception of the mask, which she was holding in her hand. She had been found in the early morning, lying on a bench in the park, unconscious. He guessed she had had a run in with Itachi. The only question was if he had confided in his friend. It would have been obvious by the pain etched on her face alone, but her first words to him confirmed it.

"How could you allow this to happen?" she asked, her voice sounding a great deal stronger than she looked.

"You should be under medical supervision, Akane," he said, realizing how weary he sounded in comparison. His avoiding the subject did more harm than good, he saw, as pain mingled with anger on her face.

"How could you be so blind as to not see Danzo move behind your back and against your wishes?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Danzo may have acted out of turn," he said, "but he only meant to serve in the best interests of this village. Itachi understood that."

"Itachi was manipulated into doing what he did. And I am not Itachi."

 _Clearly,_ Hiruzen thought, though her words somehow managed to deepen the extent of his guilt. He wondered if Itachi had made a mistake by confiding in her.

"You are weak," she said, each word sharp as a blade. "Danzo is not the leader of this village, you are. You are the sole responsible for what happened. And if that is what you allow to happen to those who dedicate their lives to protecting this village, then this-" she said, holding up her ANBU mask, "-is meaningless."

Akane threw the mask against the floor and it broke in two with a loud noise. The ANBU guards posted outside the door heard it and rushed in.

"Hokage-sama! Are you alright?"

Hiruzen held up a hand. "Return to your post." He waited until the great wooden doors swung shut before speaking. "I agree that I am the sole responsible for this tragedy," he said. "I will do everything within my power to make amends, however insufficient my efforts may be in comparison to Itachi's sacrifice. You and I understand that sacrifice, and knowing that may help Itachi get through the dark times ahead."

Alone and disgraced, hated by all who once knew him and the one person he loved the most. Hiruzen could not imagine a worse hell for someone like Itachi. Perhaps he had confided in Akane because he had wanted there to be a single person he cared about in this world who did not hate him. He was still uncertain whether he had made the right choice, however.

Though Akane seemed to have lost all will to argue with him, her face was set in grim determination. _But where will she direct it?_ The kunoichi turned to leave, forebodingly silent. Hiruzen wanted to make certain.

"Akane."

She stopped.

"Itachi cares about this village. He will do anything to protect it, even though he has left."

"I will not," she said. "I've told you before, I am not Itachi. I will respect his wish. I will respect his love for Konoha. But I have lost all faith in this worthless village."

It pained Hiruzen to hear her say that. He knew then that there was nothing he could do or say to stop her. He also knew now that her loyalty to Itachi would prevent her from speaking or acting against Konoha, and that was more than enough for him. He let her go.

Hiruzen's tired eyes looked at the broken ANBU mask lying on the floor and drifted out the window. To him at least, Uchiha Itachi was a hero. So long as there lived such shinobi in the village, he would never lose faith in Konoha.

 **A big thank you to everyone who has read this story, with special thanks to my reviwers and those who have followed or added this story to their favorites. I have a sequel in mind, so stay tuned!**


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